But it's Bello's pitch-perfect delivery that fools audiences into believing they are seeing the real "Superstition" singer.

"Sometimes, I'll start the show, and a crowd of people will come running inside, shouting, `Is Stevie Wonder in the building?!" said Bello, who brings his tribute band, Natural Wonder, to the Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21 and 22. "That's how much I sound like him."

Backed by a five-piece band, Bello faithfully interprets the music and mannerisms of one of the world's most celebrated artists, from Wonder's early Motown singles as Little Stevie to his career-defining LPs from the 1970s ("Innversions," "Songs In The Key of Life" and "Talking Book").

"We try to sum up what he's said as an artist," Bello said in a phone interview last week.

For Bello, Wonder's "message of love and positivity" comes across most clearly on "Songs in the Key of Life," the singer's multi-platinum-selling 1976 album.

"You can listen to `If It's Magic' and shed a tear, or listen to `Sir Duke' and I Wish' and feel the urge to dance," he said. "Everything you can do as songwriter and musician, he did that with that album. It's his opus."

"Another Star," a track from "Songs in the Key of Life," is a favorite of Bello's and a staple of his live set, so you can imagine his excitement when Wonder performed the song with Daft Punk, Nile Rodgers and Pharrel Williams at the Grammy Awards this year.

Bello devotes a lot of attention to Wonder's biggest hits. But he isn't shy about venturing into more obscure territory, playing such lesser-known songs as "Saturn" and "Ebony Eyes" -- two of the tracks from "A Something's Extra," a 7-inch EP that was included in the special-edition version of the original "Songs In The Key of Life" LP.

"If you're not a big Stevie fan, but you know who he is, we'll do all the songs you would expect to hear," Bello said. "We'll use those more popular songs to introduce people to some of his other music."

Bello's obsession with Wonder began when he was still in diapers. When his family got together to perform their ritual house cleaning on Saturday afternoons, Michael Jackson, Grover Washington Jr., Toto, Chuck Mangione and -- of course -- Stevie Wonder, would be blasting on the living room speakers.

"Saturdays were great," Bello recalled. "We were forced to clean the house, but we got to do it to good music."

Bello had long idolized Wonder, learning his songs and even picking up a few of his facial expressions. But it wasn't until years later, after Bello had established his own career (his 2011 self-titled album stayed on the top of the Billboard Smooth Jazz chart for 11 weeks), that he took his Stevie Wonder obsession to the next level.

It's not quite the same as seeing the actual "Superstition" singer. But as Bello contends, Natural Wonder is the closest you can get to the real thing.

"In this day and age, we see with our eyes as much as we do with our ears," he said. "I play like him, sing like him, sound like him. And if I had a receding hairline, I wouldn't have to put this wig on."